Petrograd Newspapers about the Russian Front of the First World War during the Period between the Battle of Galicia and the Great Retreat

Abstract

The article examines official reports and comments on the actions of the Russian army in mass newspapers in Petrograd during the World War I. The analysis is based on the newspapers “Petrogradskii listok” and “Gazeta-kopeika”. It shows that the newspaper publications, selected over a long period, make it possible to reconstruct a draw up a fairly accurate idea of the stages in the development of warfare. Although military reports were written vaguely to conceal an inconvenient truth, certain keywords enable to give a true picture of the state of affairs at the front. Listing captured cities, numerous prisoners, and trophies in military reports proved that the Russian army was successfully advancing. Such news noticeably boosted the mood of the population in the rear, which was expressed in patriotic demonstrations. The predominance of reports about “single battles” for villages and hills, about trenches, strong fortifications, of artillery skirmishes, and about repelling “fierce attacks” of the enemy in which they sustained “heavy losses” testified to the transition to defense and positional warfare. During these periods, the expression “without significant changes” was often used. The emergence in reports such phrases as “deterrence”, “regrouping”, “taking up more advantageous positions” and evading words “withdrawal” and and “retreat” meant that the army had started retreating. Commentaries on military reports in mass press confirmed the official version of the events, whereas military failures were perceived in terms of the existence of a “grand plan” by the military authorities that would lead the country to victory.